The tropical evergreen forests usually occur in areas receiving more
than 200 cm of rainfall and having a temperature of 15 to 30 degrees
Celsius. They occupy about seven per cent of the earth's land surface
and habours more than half of the world’s plants and animals. They are
found mostly near the equator. These
forests are dense and multi-layered. They harbour many types of
plants and animals. The trees are evergreen as there is no period of
drought. They are mostly tall and hardwood type. Leaves are broad and
give out excess water through
evapo-transpiration.

In India, evergreen forests are found in the western slopes of the
Western Ghats in States such as Kerala and Karnataka. They are also
found in hills of Jaintia and Khasi. Some of the trees found in Indian
Tropical Forests are rosewood, mahagony and ebony. Bamboos and reeds
are also common.

Tidal or mangrove forests:

Tidal forests are found along the edges of deltas of rivers in tropical
and sub-tropical regions of the world. Such forests are salt tolerant
and are flooded by seawater during high tide.

Some of these forests are dense and impenetrable. Only a limited number of plants are found in these evergreen forests.

In India, these forests are found in the deltas of Ganga, Godavari,
Mahanadi, Yamuna and other rivers. Northern Andaman and Nicobar also
harbour mangroves. They stabilise the shoreline and protect the coast
from erosion.

Sunderbans along the Ganga delta is the largest tidal forest in the
world. The name comes from the Sundari trees found in this muddy area.
Gorjan and Lintal are also found in these forests.

Mangrove forests were abundant in Kerala about a century ago. Now, they
are found in patches along the coastal districts of the State.
Kumarakom in Kottayam district is perhaps the best known preserve
of mangroves.